My Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies have the perfect balance of slightly crispy edges and super soft, tender, and chewy centers. I love how the brown butter contributes to the nutty caramel notes and gives the cookies a slight denseness, which makes the cookies have a satisfying, substantial texture. You've love the semi sweet chocolate chunks in each bite and how the flaky salt adds a delicate crunch and burst of saltiness.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Brown the butter: In a stainless steel skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Swirl the pan occasionally to help the butter melt evenly. The butter will begin to foam, and then the foam will begin to subside and you’ll start to see tiny specks at the bottom of the pan, stir with a heat resistant spatula or wooden spoon and constantly stir and scrape so milk solids that are browning don’t stick. (These are what give brown butter its yummy flavor.) As soon as the butter turns chestnut brown and omits a nutty aroma, remove the pan from the heat and scrape the brown butter and all of the delish brown bits into a heat proof bowl. It’s important to remove to a bowl immediately so the residual heat from the pan doesn’t burn the butter. Allow the butter to cool slightly, ~10-15 minutes.
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Beat in the sugars into the brown butter using a hand mixer.
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Add in eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat again.
1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 2 Tbsp. whole milk, 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
Sift in the dry ingredients and fold just until combined. (Keep stirring, the cookie dough will come together!)
Fold in only 3/4 cup of the chocolate chunks (we will use the rest of the chunks to decorate the tops). Dough should feel like cookie dough, if it feels dry still add a splash more milk and stir to combine.
2, 4 oz. bars semi sweet chocolate, chopped, divided
Dunk a cookie dough ball in the remaining chopped chocolate so the pieces cover the tops of the cookie dough balls. Press chocolate into cookie slightly just to be sure it sticks. You can slightly flatten them to get a good surface so the chocolate sticks if thats easier! Repeat with remaining cookie dough balls and place 6 cookies on a baking sheet at a time. (Should yield ~22 cookies)
Bake for 10-11 minutes (I like to go slightly underbaked for a delicious chewy cookie, the edges should be a light golden brown and centers still a little gooey looking, they will continue to bake on baking sheet when removed from oven). Swirl a cup around the edges of the cookies to give them a perfect circular look if needed.
Rest on cookie sheet just 2-3 minutes then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool and garnish with flaky sea salt if desired.
Video
Notes
Storage: Store these brown butter cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.